Does Jesus have a place in your life?
While waiting in line at Disneyland, I watched people enjoying the activities. Suddenly, I thought that there was no room for Jesus in this busy environment. I saw attractions, theme parks and restaurants everywhere. Characters like Mickey Mouse and Sleeping Beauty were present, but Jesus was nowhere to be found.
In the days before Jesus' birth, Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem for the census, traveling along dusty roads. Joseph looked for lodging there, but all the places were taken: "Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." (Lk 2,7).
Because there was no room for them, Jesus Christ was likely born in a stable. He spent his first hours not in a soft bed, but in a hard manger. When the Creator entered his creation, he was rejected by his creatures. From the very beginning, the world he had created had no place for him: “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, and his own did not receive him.” (Joh 1,10-11).
There was no room for the savior of the world. No room for the one who was to redeem every person from their sins. The one who was to be called king was placed among donkeys and sheep. Later, Jesus accused the Jews of his time of having no room for his words: “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, yet you seek to kill me, for my word has no place among you.” (Joh 8,37).
Since then, the world has been pushing Jesus out. He has been pushed out of the churches and replaced by rituals and legalism. He has been banned from schools and replaced by evolution and humanism. He has also been pushed out of Christmas. Christmas has increasingly become a consumer festival, which is about personal desires, family, food, decorations and gifts. Unfortunately, it is no longer about the birth of the Son of God into our world. Mercifully, he still has a place in the manger.
Our lives as Christians are so busy that we sometimes push Jesus out of our daily routines. We try to squeeze him in between work, shopping, the internet, and housework. Sometimes there simply isn't any room for him. How can we change that? There's no easy formula. Making room for Jesus in our lives is a matter of the heart. As it says in the Gospel of Matthew: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Mt 6,21)If Jesus is my treasure, then he has my heart and I don't need to make room for him. There won't be room for anything else. What about you? Do you have room in your heart for Jesus? Are you ready to receive him into your heart and life through faith and surrender the leadership of your life to him?
Jesus would like to have a place in our lives, but he doesn't force himself on us. He isn't looking for the general public, but for individuals who want to trust in him. His goal is to save people from their lostness and then to put them first in their lives - and not just at Christmas.
by Tammy Tkach
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